“I like to give back to the community and encourage the next generation to pursue STEM,” Nelson said. “I actually got into engineering through programs like this. FIRST Robotics opened my eyes to engineering. Ever since, when I have the opportunity, I like to come out and open the world of engineering to kids to help encourage them to maybe pursue a career.”

iMAGINE’s mission is to create meaningful experiences that promote a culture of lifelong learning and career readiness with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM), according to the imaginesteamsc.org website.

Thousands of kids worked their way through Uptown to the various booths, many of which offered hands-on learning experiences.

Sarah Ware, 9, visited the Piedmont Tech Electronic Engineering Technology booth, where she pushed buttons to work robots. She said she loves science and technology because “you can make pretty much anything you want. You just have to find the right equipment.”

Sarah, who wants to be an engineer one day, plans to attend the Due West Robotics Club summer camp next year.

“Sarah is really into STEM stuff,” her mother, Brittany Ware, said. “In fact, she wants to go to STEM at Westview (Elementary) when she’s in sixth grade. So, we decided to come out and see what all of this was about.”

At the Lonza booth, kids mixed baking soda and vinegar for an acid/base reaction, then filled black gloves to make a “monster hand.”

“I think it’s important to show kids that science isn’t scary, and it’s fun,” Lonza laboratory technician Kalee Aiken said. “You can have so much fun having different experiments and using science to understand how the world works. It’s just a great way to get kids into the different areas of science. I think this is a really good program just to be able to show kids how much fun they can have, and, hopefully, encourage them to maybe go down that field later in life.”

Natasha Littlejohn brought her daughters, including 5-year-old Lauryn Cae Littlejohn, to the festival. Lauryn Cae enjoyed learning to play a hand drum. 

“I wanted to expose her to STEAM-type activities and learn more about STEAM,” Natasha said. “They are very good in math and science.”

The festival also featured live animals, bees and insects.

Mac Curry, founder of PAWS Animal Wildlife Sanctuary, had a popular booth.

“We have a number of non-releasable, federally licensed educational animals,” Curry said. “We go out into the community and do lots of different educational programs, and this was a good venue for that.”

Rusty Deason said it was his family’s first time at the annual STEAM Festival.

“We wanted to come out and see the science and technology,” he said. “It’s incredibly important. That’s the world we live in. It’s where we are headed.”

James Taylor said he came with his son because of his interest in engineering.

“This kind of falls in line with the kind of stuff he likes,” Taylor said. “He likes gadgets — like how MythBusters does science experiments. That’s kind of what triggered him. He enjoys stuff like that, so doing this was right in line with that.”

Lakelands Master Gardener Jennifer Goldman helped at the City of Greenwood Mosquito Management and Bee City USA booth.

“We like educating kids and helping them, and educating them on mosquitoes to keep the population down,” she said. “Kids are the future.”

Susan Lybrand brought daughter Addison, 9, who peered closely into the beehive at the Lakelands Beekeepers Association booth.

“I thought it would be something she was interested in,” Susan said. “She likes a lot of science and technology-type things.”

Addison said she most liked making the monster hand. This was her first time at the festival.

Tori McClinton brought son Reeves, who was particularly interested in a tiny electrical house at the Greenwood CPW booth.

“It’s just a good hands-on experience for kids,” Tori said. “There’s a lot of things geared toward kids and learning. It’s very important.”

Lily Sweetenburg, 14, stopped by the Eaton booth, which displayed LEGOs.

“I want to be a scientist and do engineering stuff,” Sweetenburg said. “I’ve always liked building with LEGOs. I also like building robots. I’d like to do robotic engineering.”

Adalina Harvill, 12, said her father found out about the festival and suggested she attend.

“He likes to take us to these things,” she said. ‘I like learning all the different things and seeing all the different businesses that come out.”

Lauren Austin brought her family to the festival for the first time.

“They love science,” she said. “They are loving all the hands-on stuff. They are all about science now. They want to learn all they can.”

Lauren Malone, with Teijin Carbon Fibers, said her company is looking into the future by participating in the festival.

“This event is the perfect example of supporting the society of the future,” she said. “These kids are engaged in activities here that really get them to foster creative thinking and innovative ideas. This promotes not only the idea of STEM, but helps us create a workforce for the future. Engaging with these kids and letting them know about our organization and the things we have right here in Greenwood is a unique opportunity, and we think these are great festivities for the kids.”